Mobile point for COVID-19 testing in city centre of Oslo.
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Trust and transparency in pandemic communication

New publication
 | 28 November 2024
Trust in public health authorities is crucial during a pandemic. A new book explores the rhetorical strategies used by Norway’s public health authorities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with transparency emerging as the most prominent approach, consistently applied across all phases of the crisis.

The book, Navigating Pandemic Phases: Public Health Authority Communication during COVID-19 in Norway, analyses the rhetorical strategies of the Norwegian public health authorities as the COVID-19 pandemic moved through phases that presented different rhetorical problems and challenges. Many consider the Norwegian response successful, making it an interesting case.

“We demonstrate how the trustworthiness of the public health authorities was negotiated throughout the pandemic. While we detail several strategies in this regard, transparency was the most prominent – as it was cutting across all the different pandemic phases, says Øyvind Ihlen, one of the authors of the book.

“We also point to how the authorities used a combination of invitational rhetoric, providing a role for the citizens to willingly contribute to curbing the virus, and imperative form through simple directives to follow”.

Resilience for future pandemics

Research on this topic can enhance society’s resilience for future pandemics, argue the authors. The book provides insights into trust-building communication, which is essential for developing the resilience and robustness needed in future crises.

“Our core argument is that the rhetoric of Norway’s public health authorities helped maintain high levels of trust, which, in turn, fostered compliance and improved the overall management of the pandemic”, says Ihlen.

The authors propose a context-sensitive framework that equips crisis stakeholders with tools to identify recurring elements across pandemics while adapting to the unique challenges of each situation.

“Our framework helps stakeholders navigate the evolving nature of crises, balancing consistent strategies with the flexibility required to address new and dynamic challenges”, Ihlen adds.

The book is written by Øyvind Ihlen, Sine Nørholm Just, Jens E. Kjeldsen, Ragnhild Mølster, Truls Strand Offerdal, Joel Rasmussen, & Eli Skogerbø

 

Read the book Navigating Pandemic Phases: Public Health Authority Communication during COVID-19 in Norway

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